


No More

by LadyZoZo



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: F/F, Fire, Romance?, Running Away Together, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:07:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25920061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyZoZo/pseuds/LadyZoZo
Summary: The Time War is coming to an end and Romana and Leela need a quick way out
Relationships: Leela/Romana II
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	No More

Message for the High Council, Priority Omega. Arcadia has fallen. I repeat, Arcadia has fallen.

That was the last thing to come through Romana’s communicator before the comm links had gone down. Well, that and the screams of the dying.

Those three words kept rolling through her mind. Arcadia has fallen. The second city of Gallifrey had fallen. Gallifrey was falling. All her friends and allies in Arcadia were gone, just more victims of the Dalek’s merciless wrath. Narvin, Rodan, Eris, hell even Livia. They had all been in Arcadia. And Arcadia had fallen.

“What do we do now?” Leela asks quietly. Romana had almost forgotten she was there; so caught up in her own grief that she hadn’t even considered that Leela had also just lost her only other friend.

“I don’t know.” Romana’s voice was hoarse and full of dread. She hadn’t drank anything all day, she was too scared to take what might be her final sip of water. What was there to do? The CIA was useless now. What was the use of a Celestial Intervention Agency if time itself was shattered beyond repair? There was nothing left to intervene in. She was as useless as Narvin right now, maybe even more so. 

The screen on her datapad flickers on again, one last transmission coming through. Romana desperately loads it up, hoping for good news.

A hologram pops up out of the datapad, the sender of the message displayed on screen. The hologram was of a wall with bullet holes in it. The bullet holes spelled out two words. 

No More.

“No more?” Leela asks. “What does it mean? Who sent that?”

“The Doctor.” Romana says dryly. “It means… well it can only mean one thing. What it means to him… I don’t know. But I know what it means to me.”

Leela sighs. “Romana, I do not have the strength to keep up with your riddles. Just tell me what it means.”

Romana looks around at Leela for the first time since getting the message, only now noticing the tears in her own eyes. She only notices them because they’re in Leela’s eyes too. “No more fighting. This War has gotten our friends killed, our families slaughtered, and put the universe into ruins. I’m not going to continue taking part in it. No more.”

Romana stands up and tucks in her chair calmly, slipping on her favourite pink coat as she does. “I’m leaving, and I’m leaving now. I refuse to be another victim in the inevitable massacre of Gallifrey.” Romana dons her scarf and pockets a few bits and bobs before turning back to Leela. “Are you going to come with me, or are you going to stay behind and fight? I will understand if you wish to stay.”

“Romana.” Leela takes Romana’s hand and smiles a little, just a little. “Do you really have to ask?”

Romana bites back a tiny smile and nods. “Thank you.” She pockets one last thing, her sonic screwdriver, before squeezing Leela’s hand and giving her a small tug. “Let’s go then. I doubt we have long left to leave.”

The pair usher themselves out of the office and head down to the TARDIS warehouses. Walking in there during the War had always unsettled Romana. Normally these halls were full of TARDISes, the collective feeling of their telepathic minds rubbing up against anybody who walked nearby. It was very different during the War though. The normally chock-a-block halls were barren and devoid of life due to most of the TARDIS’s being either dead or in-use. In fact the warehouse was currently more empty than Romana had ever seen it, with only one TARDIS left.

“I do not like it here.” Leela announces. “It is like walking into a haunted house. There are things here that are beyond our comprehension.”

For once Romana knew what Leela was talking about. This was the home of many dead TARDISes, and time machines always left ghosts. Romana doesn’t take note of this though and she marches on over to the remaining TARDIS, Leela close behind her.

Romana checks the screen beside the TARDIS and sighs. “No wonder it’s not in use. It’ll have to do though.” Romana takes the key from the drawer under the screen and moves over to unlock the door.

“What do you mean?” Leela asks, eyeing the TARDIS up and down.

“It’s a Type 39.” Romana explains. “Very old model, practically a heap of junk at this point. Most of these were melted down into scrap metal decades back, I’m surprised this one is still here.”

Romana opens the door and steps inside. The console room was nothing special, just a dark, round room with gold roundels and a silver console in the middle. Romana walks right over to it and shuts the doors once she’s sure Leela’s inside. “Are you sure you want to leave?” Romana asks her. “Because once we leave, we will never be able to come back home.”

Leela joins Romana and the console and rests one hand on top of hers. “Of course I am sure. You should know by now that my home is not on Gallifrey, my home is just with you.”

Romana smiles, though it’s a bittersweet one as she can’t help but think of the others that should be a part of that home. Narvin, Ace, both K9s, Braxiatel, the Doctor… they should be here. But they’re not, Romana and Leela were alone.

“Alright.” Romana nods and rests her hands on the dematerialisation switch. “Lets go.”

The engines heave themselves into action as Romana pulls the switches. The floor vibrates beneath them as the central column rises for the first time in who-knows-how-long. 

Leela grabs Romana’s arm. “This TARDIS is not safe. I can sense it.”

“I told you it was old.” Romana remarks. She operates the controls some more and the TARDIS fully takes off from Gallifrey. She does some quick jiggery pokery to disconnect it from the Matrix and starts punching in some coordinates again. “She should be able to get us where we need to go though.”

“And where is that?” Leela asks, not letting go of Romana’s arm as the TARDIS hurtles it’s way into the vortex.

“Somewhere safe I hope.” Romana replies.

Just as she says this smoke begins billowing out of a few controls and the vibrations in the floor get gradually worse.

“On second thoughts,” Romana says, jumping across the console to hit a lever, “maybe ‘safe’ isn’t the right word.”

“Where are we going?” Leela asks loudly, her voice barely audible over the screaming engines.

“I’m trying to pilot her to Paris!” Romana responds in an equally loud tone. “Though at this point I think it’s more like aiming than piloting, this thing is out of control!”

As if to prove her point, the TARDIS shakes and both women have to grab the rim of the console to remain on their feet. More smoke starts billowing from all over the controls and the rich smell of burning fills the room.

“Romana…” Leela says in a warning tone. “I think something is on fire!”

“It is, I can smell it!” Romana yanks a lever and hits a few buttons. “I think it’s inside the console. There’s nothing we can do though, all we can do is hope our landing isn’t too rough!”

“If the landing is anything like the flight then I doubt it will be comfortable!” Leela yells over the engines.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that!” Romana cries back. She hits a few more controls and the engines wheeze in pain as flames start to lap out of the sides of the console. “I think we’re coming in for landing. Let’s just hope we don’t make too much of a dent in the local landscape, hold on!”


End file.
